Ingredients
Mao Feng green tea, Jasmine Silver Tip green tea, cardamom, ginger, rose, osmanthus flower, and nectarine natural flavor.
Blend Numerology
No. 20: Ahhh, the first day of spring! Let your heart go boing-boing-boing.
Preparation
For best flavor, bring spring or freshly drawn filtered water to 185°F. Steep three minutes and listen for hummingbirds.
- Select an Ingredient:
- organic ginger root
- cardamom
- jasmine silver tip
- mao feng
- osmanthus flower
- red rose petals
Organic Ginger Root
Indian Spice
Ginger, used in many cultures to enliven food and drink, is also known for its healthful qualities. A light stimulant, it can treat cold symptoms and sore throat. Ginger is cultivated most prominently in India, China, Indonesia and West Africa. After the plant flowers and the leaves die off, the roots are dug, washed, peeled and sun dried. Ginger’s spicy-sweet flavor adds spark and complexity to our Big Hibiscus.
India
India is located in Southern Asia and is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations (Indus Valley shout out). It is a country rich in history, culture, religion, geography and so much more, and has been famous since ancient times as a source for spices that continue to be coveted around the world. Our ginger comes from several regions in India and is harvested multiple times during the year.
Cardamom
Guatemalan Spice
Seductively fragrant, with floral notes and a menthol bite, cardamom is a bush in the ginger family that grows to 10 feet high. Popular in Persian and Indian cooking, it is also widely used in tea and chai blends. We believe the best is produced by indigenous Mayan farmers in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Its pale yellow flowers turn into clusters of cherries that are dried. These whole green pods or the dark seeds inside are removed to spice tea.
Alta Verapaz Department
Located in north central Guatemala, this area once helped form the core of the Maya Civilization. Now it is home to half of the production of cardamom in the world. Harvest season takes place between the months of June to February.
Jasmine Silver Tip
Chinese Green Tea
Grown in Fujian Province, China, Jasmine Silver Tip is also know as Jasmine Yin Hao and has a delicate yet pronounced floral scent and flavor. The green leaves are harvested in spring, pan fired to neutralize their oxidizing enzyme and stored until July, when jasmine flowers begin to bloom. The tea is then layered with unopened jasmine buds, which slowly unfurl and share their heavenly fragrance. Once the flowers have scented the tea, they are removed.
Fujian Province
Fujian Province is one of the most famous tea growing regions located on the southeast coast of China. Black, white and oolongs teas are all thought to have originated from this province. With Taiwan so close in proximity, there has been much sharing of knowledge between the two in terms of tea plants and production. Jasmine Silver Tips begin their production in April and are finished in July.
Mao Feng
Chinese Green Tea
Grown in the mountains of central Zhejiang Province, China, at altitudes above 3000 feet, Mao Feng is harvested in the spring and quickly hot air fired. This neutralizes the oxidizing enzyme and seals in the fresh flavors and aromas. The long, slender jade leaves of Mao Feng brew to a color of pale green and impart a pleasing vegetative fragrance with buttery notes and lingering sweetness.
Wuyi County
Wuyi County is located in central Zhejiang Province in Eastern China and should not be confused for the famous Wuyishan tea growing region in Fujian Province. It is an area famous for agriculture and tourism, most noteably Jinhua ham and hot springs respectively. Our Mao Feng is harvested from mid March to May.
Osmanthus Flower
Chinese Botanical
Osmanthus is a species of evergreen shrubs and trees native to Asia. Its flowers are extremely fragrant and when made into a tea have strong peach notes. A favorite of Steve's, we use this botanical in our signature White Petal blend.
Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang Province is located in Eastern China, directly south of Shanghai and Jiangsu Province. These three areas made up a region known in earlier times as the "Land of Fish and Rice". Today, Zhejiang still holds up its end of the bargain as home to China's largest fishery and as one of the largest food producers, along with leading in tea production. Osmanthus is harvested here in the summer to be blended with tea, herbs or enjoyed on its own.
Red Rose Petals
Indian Botanical
Less utilized in our blends than their pink counterparts, dried red rose petals are more pungent and perfumed.
Pakistan
Pakistan is located in South Asia and shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan to its west, China to its north and India to its east. Separated from India during The Partition in 1947, Pakistan has a diverse landscape and climate, with a fifth of its GDP coming from agriculture. Our red rose petals are harvested in early Spring, usually in March.
